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36 Hours in Edinburgh

By STUART EMMRICH

Published: July 29, 2007

CORRECTION APPENDED

Corrections Appended

EVERY August, the global theatrical community -- well, at least the part that is drawn to an all-male, musical version of Chekhov's ''Three Sisters'' -- heads to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh for a monthlong celebration of the dramatic arts, from world premieres by celebrated authors to one-man shows by unknown novices. The main event is the Edinburgh International Festival, which next month will feature such productions as ''Orpheus X,'' a modern-day telling of the Orpheus myth, and a Mabou Mines staging of ''A Doll's House.'' But for many people, the real draw is the Fringe, a riotous collection of performances all around the city by hundreds of performance artists, comedians, memoirists and monologuists. The crux of the action is at the Assembly Rooms (54 George Street), one of several places where tickets are sold each day, and where hundreds of festivalgoers gather each morning -- almost like theatrical futures traders -- to swap information about what is causing the latest buzz, what's a must-see and what's turned out to be a flop. The great thing about many of these shows is that they often run an hour or so, and thus you know that even the most painful theatrical experience will soon come to an end if you've chosen unwisely. (Though I did once earn the lasting enmity of one playwright whose tortured attempts to tell a coherent story were so inept that I walked out about halfway through the show. The fact that there were only four other people in the audience might be why he glared at me so intently as I gently closed the theater door behind me.) Still, Edinburgh, even in August, is more than just about sitting in darkened theaters all day. The city itself beckons, and often provides the perfect kicker to a day spent discovering an amazing new talent, or the perfect antidote to a theatrical experiment gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Friday

6 p.m.
1)HIGHER GROUND

Who's to argue with Robert Louis Stevenson? This native son of Edinburgh once wrote that the best views of the city could be found on Calton Hill -- and he was right. The monument-studded hilltop, at the far east end of Princes Street and reachable by stairs from Waterloo Place, offers magnificent vistas of Edinburgh and the surrounding countryside, from the port town of Leith in one direction to Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags in another. When the skies are blue and the late-afternoon sun shimmers on the city below, it becomes clear why Edinburgh is considered among the most beautiful cities in the world.

7 p.m.
2)STARTING THE WEEKEND

Grab a Candy Cosmo or a Pear Drop at the Candy Bar (113-115 George Street; 44-131-225-9179; www.candybaredinburgh.co.uk) during happy hour (5 to 9 p.m), when drinks are two-for-one and this trendy basement bar is packed with Edinburgh's young scenesters getting revved up for the weekend ahead.

8:30 p.m.
3)ITALIAN FOOD, OF COURSE

Edinburgh's new Restaurant Row runs along George Street from St. Andrew Square to Charlotte Square, with a clutch of sleek, upscale establishments. Expertly prepared Italian food, from lightly breaded fried calamari to a braised lamb shoulder with polenta, is served at Est Est Est (135 George Street; 44-131-225-2555 or 44-870-401-2109; www.estestest.co.uk), an elegant space dominated by 130 black-and-white photos. Dinner for two, with wine, runs about £70, or $140 at $2 to £1, including tip.

11 p.m.
4)BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS

There are dozens of excellent places around town to hear live music, from Bannermans, where you'll often find unsigned local bands looking for their big break, to Sandy Bell's, a place for devotees of traditional Scottish music. But perhaps the best of all is Whistlebinkies (4-6 South Bridge; 44-131-557-5114; www.whistlebinkies.com), a sprawling basement bar that is often the first gig for start-up acts -- from testosterone-fueled garage bands to soulful lesbian folk singers. The crowd ranges in ages and temperaments, and the talent runs from slickly polished to amusingly clueless. (''I know we have a song list here somewhere,'' one young rocker -- surely not far removed from high school -- kept telling the small audience on a recent night.) But nothing compares to the frenzy that grips the room when an unknown singer unleashes a powerful voice and sets the place on fire. Open every night until 3 a.m. (5 a.m. during August).

Saturday

10:30 a.m.
5)OLD MASTERS

The National Gallery of Scotland (National Gallery Complex; 44-131-624-6200; www.nationalgalleries.org; free) has an impressive collection of artists from van Dyke to van Gogh. But this inviting museum also offers a good introduction to Scottish art. Names like Raeburn and McTaggart may not be as well known, but paintings by these Scottish artists compare well with their more famous contemporaries.

11:30 a.m.
6)SCOTLAND ART

You've seen Scotland's artistic past. Now it's time to fast-forward into the present. For a survey of the country's contemporary art scene, go a few blocks north and stroll among the galleries on and around Dundas Street, from the Open Eye Gallery (36 Abercromby Place; 44-131-557-1020; www.openeyegallery.co.uk), to Bourne Fine Art (6 Dundas Street; 44-131-557-4050; www.bournefineart.co.uk) and the tiny Randolph Gallery (39 Dundas Street; 44-131-556-0808; www.randolphgallery.com). Almost all will have special exhibits during Festival month, but you're sure to come across an intriguing local artist any time of year.

Correction: August 5, 2007, Sunday
The 36 Hours column last Sunday, about Edinburgh, Scotland, referred incompletely to air service between New York and Edinburgh. Although there are no direct flights between New York City's two airports and Edinburgh, Continental does offer nonstop service from Newark.

Correction: August 5, 2007, Sunday
The 36 Hours column last Sunday, about Edinburgh, Scotland, referred incompletely to air service between New York and Edinburgh. Although there are no direct flights between New York City's two airports and Edinburgh, Continental does offer nonstop service from Newark.

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